Jumping the gun on a condensed three-on-three drill that featured nets at both blue-lines, Johnny Gaudreau was welcomed back to the team Tuesday by being playfully chastised by coach Glen Gulutzan.

“Whoa, Johnny,” laughed Gulutzan as he sent Gaudreau back to the bench to wait for a whistle to start the race to the puck. “It’s not an all-star game here, we’ve got different rules.”

The group got a chuckle out of it before commencing the sort of high skill/high energy exercise Gaudreau thrives on.

Acquitting himself well at the all-star gathering for the third year in a row, the Flames’ 23-year-old superstar returned for his first practice with the team with a jump in his step.

It was a good sign, as every player in the room knows how Gaudreau plays from here on out will go a long way toward determining whether the Flames return to the playoffs following a one-year absence.

He knows it too.

The hope is that following a sub-par first half where, at one point, he sat sixth in team scoring, No. 13 gained confidence from his last handful of days, which included scoring the overtime winner in Ottawa before hanging with the world’s greatest players in Los Angeles.

“Here I am going up the elevator with Eric Lindros and down the elevator with Joe Sakic and Chris Pronger from my floor,” beamed Gaudreau, who was privy to a weekend that also included the unveiling of the NHL’s top 100 players of all time.

“It’s not only the best players now but the best players to ever play the game. That’s what made that weekend top notch.”

Whether it was hanging with Brent Burns, taping Nick Jonas’s performance or befriending Ryan Kesler for one brief moment in time, Johnny Hockey was not only in his element, but in hockey heaven.

“I got autographs my first two years, but this year I didn’t want to bother anyone and by asking so I kept my jersey and that’s about it,” said Gaudreau, who admits to being a tad star-struck when facing Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in the three-on-three final.

“I got to play against them at the end and they were a line, so whenever you’re out there against them you’re a little nervous. Me, (Bo) Horvat and (Cam) Fowler did a good job trying to contain those guys and it was fun. Those are guys that I was watching when I was younger. It builds a little confidence and you believe you belong with them.”

That was the coach’s hope going into the weekend.

“What you hope is he goes in with the league’s best and realizes, ‘Oh, I’m one of them,’ ” said Gulutzan, who is counting on the former 30-goal scorer to return to carrying the club offensively as he’s now paid to do.

“Confidence is key for any guy in this league.”

Gaudreau could sure use some.

“I try to not look at it like me being one of those top players – I just try to be humble and thankful I have the opportunity to be part of that weekend with those guys,” said Gaudreau, who has 11 goals and 31 points in 42 outings, while sporting a minus-17 rating that is amongst the league’s worst.

“I never want to think of myself as one of the best players in the world, you don’t want to get that mindset. I just tried to take it all in.”

Would he have been better off resting, re-energizing, recharging for a crucial stretch run?

“Honestly, it is like time away from hockey,” he said of the fan-driven all-star festivities that allowed him to fly family and friends in to watch.

“You’re not so serious about hockey at the time, you’re just having fun with it. You’re spending time with family and friends, and for me, three-on-three is not serious, it’s fun. It’s like pickup hockey to me, I love that.”

How that jolt of adrenaline, excitement and confidence translates is anyone’s guess in this, his most inconsistent season to date.

A favourable response can keep the Flames in the wild-card race, while another disappearance could have the team revisiting the depths of another four-game losing streak like the one his team just snapped out of with his first goal in 12 games.

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